The Neverending Cycle of Life
by Zivilyn Bane
Summary: Kukiel's mother seeks the tender-hearted Horwell's expertise after the family dog gives birth to a litter of puppies.
1. Chapter 1

There was something quite grave in the tone of Owlan's voice. He was stern by default, but whatever was hidden beneath his calm appearance worried Horwell. No "please" when he asked for him to follow—whatever required his attention was something very serious.

One their way out of the academy, Horwell began to wonder if he should anticipate the students jumping out, but the briskness of Owlan's pace made him drop his guard soon afterward. Waiting for them with her back turned was the lovely Wryna (who today, despite still being lovely, appeared quite stressed), standing tensely in the grass and wringing her hands together nervously.

"Here's Horwell," Owlan murmured, standing off to the side after Wryna turned around, startled.

"Oh, thank you," she said quickly, placing a hand flat above her breasts, clasping it in the other. "Instructor Horwell, I'm so sorry to bother you... But you're good with animals, right?"

"I would like to think so! Is something wrong with your Loftwing?"

Wryna clenched her hand into a fist and pressed it against her lips as she shook her head. "It's... Well, um, we just..." She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, exhaled, and started over with a slightly calmer voice. "We have a dog. And our dog had puppies a while ago, um, four of them, but one of them keeps getting pushed away, and she won't eat solid food or drink whatever we try to give her, and... Um, do you think you could...?"

Horwell regarded her with concern, nodding sympathetically. "You want me to have a look? Sure, I can do that." Wryna's shoulders collapsed with relief and she beckoned him along, walking across the overhanging path toward the other side of Skyloft.

She rambled on about nothing in particular, fidgeting constantly, running a hand through her hair or adjusting where her shirt bunched up at her waist. What she had told him already was enough for Horwell to begin assuming the likely outcome.

"I just hate seeing Kukiel upset, and I'm as worried as she is about the poor little thing... We were planning on giving the puppy to one of her little friends down the road..."

"Really? That's awfully nice of you," Horwell replied, making sure Wryna saw him smile. "I'm sure Kukiel's friend will take good care of the puppy."

Tense silence followed for the remaining distance, and as he waited for Wryna to unlock the door to her house, Horwell began preparing himself mentally for whatever would happen. Treating a runt wasn't impossible, but puppies were quite different from kittens, and even with proper care, nature still might decide to run its course.

"Kukiel? Sweetie? I brought Instructor Horwell to look at the puppy for us. Where are y—oh, there you a—" With a gasp, Wryna's hands flew to her mouth and she hurriedly took the tiny creature from her daughter's hands when she saw it. "I told you to leave her with the other puppies, honey! Look, she's cold now..." She fumbled in place, taking a few steps toward the back of her home before whirling around, placing a gentle hand on the girl's cloaked shoulder. "Here, let Horwell see—...Kukiel?"

"Mama, the puppy won't wake up," Kukiel mumbled, gently jostling her in both hands. "I kept her warm! Really, I did, promise!" Her voice quivered weakly, and she turned to her mother before frantically thrusting the puppy toward Horwell. "Unstrucker Horwell, here, Mama said you'll make her better..."

Horwell's lips thinned as he lowered himself to his knees, cupping his hands as Kukiel placed the puppy into them with the gentleness of a fairy. She watched intently, leaning into her mother's side with her breath hitched in her throat. Reluctantly, the teacher glanced up toward Wryna, and a gesture of mutual, pitiful understanding connected their gazes.

Still, he cradled the dead puppy against his chest in one arm, gently turning the head from side to side with one finger, lifting her tiny, naked paws with their tips, stroking her cold ear with the fondness of a father. Even if he'd arrived earlier and cared for it by himself, Horwell knew the puppy was not made to survive. It was simply too small, practically hairless, a helpless creature born into a cruel world that refused to accept it. His heart ached terribly, a deep frown settling on his features.

"Can you fix her, Unstrucker?"

Slowly, he looked up at Kukiel and her mother, taking the puppy away from the warmth of his body. "I'm sorry, Kukiel," he said somberly, glancing away as the girl went rigid where she should. "I can't fix the puppy. But you've done a wonderful job taking care of her and the rest of the puppies."

The girl's voice trembled when she spoke, and she latched onto her mother's arms as they circled her shoulders. "Why not? She was okay a little while ago... You're an animal doctor; Mama said you'd be able to fix her..." Kukiel shook her head, reaching for the puppy with one hand. Horwell inched forward on his knees and extended his hands toward her, watching her run her hand softly rhythmically along the length of the puppy's body. "Is she gonna wake up?"

"Kukiel..." Wryna began softly, squeezing her daughter's shoulders. Her mouth fluttered silently for a few seconds as she searched for words. "The puppy... She's not going to wake up. She's going to be asleep for a very, very long time. Longer than we'll be here in Skyloft..."

"How long...?"

Another moment of hesitation. "...forever, Kukiel. The puppy's body has stopped working. She was very sick, and even though you took very good care of her, the goddess decided that it was time for the puppy to go with her to the Sacred Realm. She's dead, sweetie..."

Kukiel's dark eyes glistened in the sunlight as she struggled to process what her mother was attempting to explain. "But Mama, I promised I'd take really good care of her... I want her back. I want her to wake up! Unstrucker Horwell, come on, please, you've gotta make her wake up...!"

Hearing such desperation and confusion in a young child's voice made Horwell slightly uncomfortable. He could understand Kukiel's frustrations—he himself wished it were possible to revive the puppy. If he could heal all of the sick and dying animals in the world, he would. Even as a grown man, he had difficulty comprehending the cruelty that was the cycle of life sometimes. But all things came to an end. Even good things. Innocent things. Helpless things.

"Kukiel," Horwell said softly, smiling kindly. "This puppy lived a very, very eventful life and I'm sure she was very happy to have you as an owner. She was very special and she loved you very much—as much as your mother and father love you, if not more. You were a kind friend to her, and now that the puppy is in the Sacred Realm, she'll be able to watch you grow up in a very, very far away place."

Fat tears began pooling in Kukiel's reddening eyes as her lower lip began to tremble. "I don't want her to be dead... P-please... fix..." Her lips parted, revealing her tightly clenched, chattering teeth. Unable to finish her sentence, Kukiel began to sob, turning and burying her face in the crook of her mother's shoulder. Horwell felt his heart crack.

"I'm sorry, Kukiel," he trailed off softly, and sat back, waiting patiently as Wryna consoled her daughter. "I wish that I could fix her as much as you. I can't bring her back, but there is one thing we can do for your puppy... Does she have a name?"

The little girl didn't turn her head, but eventually nodded against her mother's neck with a muffled reply.

"Hm?"

Wryna lowered her ear to Kukiel's face. "Blackie," she translated.

"I can help you give Blackie a funeral. And we can go ask Instructor Owlan for some pretty flowers to put on her grave to show her how much you'll always love her."

"Would you like that Kukiel?" Wryna whispered, threading her fingers in her daughter's messy ponytail. "You can pick the prettiest flowers in all of Skyloft just for Blackie, and Daddy will probably say some nice words for her..."

"We'll bury her wherever you want so you can remember where to visit her when you miss her," Horwell added, and waited for a reluctant nod of approval from Kukiel before he rose shakily to his feet, finally covering the puppy's head with what remained of his scarf. "Would you like to come with me now so you can see the flowers?"

Another slow, miserable nod. A ghost of a smile passed over Horwell's lips as Wryna lifted her daughter into her arms.


	2. Chapter 2

An uneasy silence fell over the students in Owlan's classroom even though Horwell attempted entering as unnoticeably as he could. "Owlan, may I ask a favor of you?" The scarf-less teacher asked quietly before gesturing vaguely toward some of the blooms lining the window of the classroom. Pausing, he glanced down toward the scarlet fabric he held before leading the other man out into the hall, closing the door behind them. "Will you cut some of your flowers for us?"

"What happened?" The white-haired man's brow furrowed deeply, eventually settling on the tiny bundle in his colleague's hands. Kukiel sniffled wetly, turning her head to watch both instructors through her puffy, teary eyes, closing them when her mother began stroking her hair again.

"Kukiel's puppy died," Horwell explained, grimacing as Kukiel began crying again. "And we're going to have a funeral for her. ...actually, I'll need something to dig with, too, so if you could..."

A few seconds later, Owlan nodded, returning to his classroom to dismiss the students—instead of simply celebrating and dashing outside like they usually would, however, most of the trainees stayed behind, curious to know what had happened. Thankfully, Owlan did not divulge any information about Kukiel's personal tragedy. Unfortunately, some of the female students noticed Wryna comforting her daughter near the kitchen and probed an answer out of her very easily.

They flocked to Horwell and Owlan, some of them already misty-eyed with deep sympathy. Horwell did not address them, politely asking them not to bother the poor girl—Owlan did not share similar mildness, instead dismissing them with few words after being pestered for explanation.

After he'd gone upstairs, Wryna approached Horwell again with a slightly calmer Kukiel, smiling distantly at some of the students. "Kukiel," she asked softly, her lips moving against the top of her daughter's head, "Would you like to invite some of the big girls to Blackie's funeral? They look like they want to help you feel better. Maybe they'll have some nice things to say, too."

Kukiel didn't respond, hanging limply in her mother's arms. She sniffled and choked out a single sob when Karane waved to her from across the hall, wiping her eyes with the backs of her heavy sleeves before flinging it toward the other girl in a halfhearted response.

"Honey? What do you think?" As the little girl nodded against her shoulder, Wryna left Horwell's company to speak with some of the girls chattering quietly off to the side.

Owlan returned shortly afterward with an eclectic and elaborate arrangement of blossoms in one hand, a spade in the other. Horwell exchanged a fond but pained grin with him, nodding appreciatively. "Would you like to come with us?" he asked. "I'm certain you'd dig a better plot than I ever could..."

"Oh, they're _beautiful,_" Wryna gasped, reaching out to brush her fingertips along the petals of a pale lily centered in the bouquet. "Look, Kukiel, look what Instructor Owlan brought for Blackie... Aren't they pretty?"

Hesitantly, Kukiel twisted around in her mother's grasp, extending her arms toward the flowers. Owlan did his best to give her a reassuring smile as he handed them over, waiting for Horwell to begin leaving before following along with the small party that had accumulated in the hall during his absence. A few residents of Skyloft that noticed the group passing by made sure to inquire and offer their sympathies to Kukiel upon learning the meaning behind the gathering. Along the way, Wryna waved her husband down and handed Kukiel off to him, resting a tired hand on his arm while waiting patiently for their daughter to choose a spot to bury her puppy. The chill wind outside combined with her exhaustion was already making the poor girl sleepy, but as they ventured toward the sparkling, flowing river in the middle of Skyloft, her head perked up.

"There," Kukiel whimpered, stabbing a finger toward the quiet, secluded graveyard across the bridge. "That tree right there... Can we put her under there where there's people already buried?"

Jakamar kissed his daughter enthusiastically, glancing toward his wife for approval. "I think that's a great idea. When you're asleep at night, she'll have other people to play with so she won't get lonely. Good thinking... I know just where to put her, too."

In the center of the bridge, Horwell relinquished the puppy to Wryna, shaking his head when she began unraveling the scarf wrapped around her. "She'll need to stay warm, won't she? It's really not a problem. Owlan and I agree that it's best for us to be going and leave things to Kukiel."

The woman clasped her hands together, relieved, eventually flinging her arms around Horwell's neck in gratitude. "Thank you so much, Instructors. You've done a lot for us today and I know Kukiel certainly appreciates it, too."

"Thank you," Kukiel parroted in a hiccupping voice, wiping at her eyes again. "I-I really like these flowers, Unstrucker Owly..."

Jakamar took the spade from the white-haired teacher, winking appreciatively at his wife. "I'll take it from here. Thanks for taking care of my family, Owlan and Horwell. I'll be sure to bring it back tonight before we all head home."

"Take care," Horwell replied, and after exchanging a quiet goodbye with Kukiel, he and Owlan left to return to the academy.

The walk back felt endless, and Horwell kept his head down the entire time. He could almost feel Owlan sorting through his muddled thoughts in search of something to say, looking over at him briefly to meet what the other man probably thought was a stealthy flick of his eyes.

Knowing he'd been caught, Owlan's cheeks flushed with color. "You're a good person, Horwell," he said softly, folding his arms over his chest with a sagely nod. "You'd probably sell everything you owned just to save the life of a butterfly. I know you tried your very best and we both made things a little easier for that little girl, I think. You're very kindhearted and probably one of the most generous and altruistic people in all of the skies—"

"Owlan..." Horwell interrupted, placing a knowing hand between Owlan's shoulders. "You don't have to say anything, you know. I know you mean well and you're just trying to not make things awkward... But you don't have to speak."

Without replying, Owlan hesitantly lifted his own hand and rested it on Horwell's left shoulder, stepping closer and finally laying his head against the other man. Their hands ghosted together as they walked, wind whipping strands of white and brown hair together.

"...it's a little cold outside, isn't it?"

Owlan removed his scarf, tossing half of it around Horwell's neck while he leaned in to kiss his partner's cheek. Horwell leaned into him, touching their foreheads together as he mouthed a few words of gratitude.

"I'm just grateful that you're here for me. It means a lot."


End file.
